The Gray Fox - Interlude
by toughgirls22
Summary: A follow-up to my original story. Certain liberties have been taken with the details of the liberation of Dijon.
1. Chapter 1

September 1944, Dijon, France

 _A follow-up to The Gray Fox. Certain liberties have been taken with the details of the liberation of Dijon._

Casino crouched behind the barricade while there was a lull in the shooting. Goniff and Actor were kneeling next to him, also armed with German rifles, along with a squad of Free French soldiers. The Warden and Chief were off somewhere, playing hero.

"How the hell did we end up in the middle of a war?" he grouched. Goniff shrugged with a grimace. He didn't like playing soldier any more than Casino.

Their mission had been simple enough, picking up German defense plans from a contact halfway to the Swiss border. Driving west towards liberated France, they had run into a troop of _Maquis_ partisans. Since they were in a Kraut vehicle, carrying German arms, their story of being an Allied commando unit were doubted by the suspicious French. They had been escorted to the Free French front lines, where Lieutentant Gung-ho and the damned Indian volunteered them to join the northward swing of the offensive.

So here they were, ranged along the side of a large square in front of German HQ, waiting for the tanks to wind their way along the narrow streets of the city. The remaining Germans were manning the upper and lower stories of the Ducal Palace, whose courtyard was ringed by an iron fence mounted on a three-foot stone wall. No way to infiltrate the fortress, but they were obliged to exchange gunfire with the entrenched troops. Maybe to prevent an advance from them, Casino didn't know and didn't care.

He wished their barricade was a little more subantial. The French seemed to think a few tables and hay bales provided protection. Casino peered cautiously over the top. No activity. Then he spotted a young boy creeping along the front of one wing of the building. The kid stood up, paused, then dashed forward, dropping a grenade into each of the shattered windows.

"Man, that kid would make one helluva quarterback!" he exclaimed.

The boy ran full tilt toward their position and vaulted over the top. Rolling to a stop, his cap fell off and a familiar red braid dropped loose.

"Kerist," said Casino with some resignation. " I shoulda guessed. Hi there, Suzette, how ya doin'."

"Casino!" The French girl threw her arms around his neck. She hugged Goniff and scurried over to kiss Actor on each check. Her eyes scanned the men behind the barricade.

"Is… is Chief with you?" she asked anxiously.

"He and Garrison are out behind the palace somewhere," said Actor.

She smiled back and said, " _Son véritable jour de gloire , n'est-ce pas_ ?" [Isn't this truly a day of glory?]

" _Il est donc bien_ ," replied Actor. [It is indeed.]

A series of muffled explosions sounded, clouds of smoke and flame rising over the back of the building.

"I do believe that's Chief's handiwork there," commented Casino.

Suzette beamed at him. Despite the grime on her face, she did almost look pretty.

A two-toned whistle sounded. The girl looked around and saw a civilian figure hailing her from behind another barricade. She waved back and turned to the Gorillas.

"I must go," she said. "You will tell Chief that I am here?"

" _B_ _ien sûr_ ," replied Actor.

"Like we wouldn't of thought of that," muttered Casino.

GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

As Suzette joined the resistance men behind their barricade in the front of the plaza, she heard the awesome screech and rumble of tanks approaching. Slowly, the tanks moved into position behind them and slowly, raised their guns. The _Jacquerie_ waited anxiously. This was the telling moment, and they prayed it wouldn't be necessary to fire on the medieval building.

The silence grew. They heard a ragged cheer from their right, and turned to see a white cloth being hung from an upper window of the palace, then another waving from the ground floor.

" _Mon Dieu, Mon Dieu_ ," whispered Suzette. " _Est-ce vraiment passe_?" [My God, can this really be happening?]

" _Ils sont surrendin_ ," replied one of the men with awe. " _Sa fin vraiment_!" [They are surrendering. It's really the end.]

A French officer climbed down from the center tank, calling for some infantry to follow him. Rifles at the ready, they walked towards the barricades. The captain stopped by the civilians and asked ," _Partisans locaux_ ? _Maquis_ ?" [Local partisans? Maquis?]

Jaques-Emile, the baker, pointed to Suzette, " _Nous sommes les Jacquerie._ _C'est la Renard Gris_ _, notre chef. Les Maquis_ _et le groupe communiste_ _sont plus sur le flanc droit_ _._ " [We are the Jaquerie. This is the Gray Fox, our leader. The Maquis and communist groups are over on the right flank.]

The officer spoke to one of his men, who headed off to the right end of the barricades. Then he looked down at Suzette. " _Viens avec moi_ _._ _Cette victoire nous appartient à tous_." [Come with me. This victory belongs to all of us.]

Suzette followed them to the gate, the soldiers moving to the concrete base for partial cover. They waited, and were soon joined by two men. She nodded her head to Stephan; they had worked on several actions. The other was wearing the traditional leather jacket and cap of the _Maquis_.

The front door of the palace opened slowly. A white cloth tied to a pole was held out, hesitantly followed by several soldiers with their hands raised. They unlocked and opened the gate, then stood aside. A German colonel strode out of the building.

The French captain motioned to his group. " _Formez une garde d'honneur._ " [Form an honor guard.]

He stepped forward into the courtyard, and the French soldiers and partisans stood in two lines. The captain waited silently until the officer reached him.

" _Colonel, je vais accepter votre pistole comme une capitulation_ ," said the captain. [I will take your pistol as surrender.]

" _Ich spreche kein Französisch_ ," replied the German. [I don't speak French.] There was a snort from the _Maquis_ man.

"English, perhaps? I will not speak the language of the _Boche_ ", the captain said mildly. "I will accept your surrender."

"I must defer to surrender to an officer of equal rank," said the colonel, looking down his nose.

The captain cocked his head. "I will not waste his time….Gray Fox, will you please disarm this man?"

Suzette started. At a nudge from the _Maquis_ next to her, she stepped forward. A brief look of amazement crossed the German's face, then he resumed his stony look. Suzette smiled up at him, and pulled his sidearm out of the holster.

"I'm very happy to meet you in this circumstance," she said sweetly. She offered the pistol to the captain, but he waved it away. " _À votre honnuer_ _,"_ he said. [To your honor.]

By this time, other Germans were filing out the front door into the small courtyard. French troops were moving up to escort them away. Suzette clutched the pistol to her chest and walked towards her friends.

" _Emile, c'est fini_?" she asked him. [Is it over?]

Emile picked her up in a bear hug. " _C'est fini, ma fille_." He tossed her to the next man, and the _Jacquerie_ took turns embracing their leader.


	2. Chapter 2

Chief had been on hyper-alert since they reached the outskirts of Dijon. Pure luck they had ended up here. When they left for the latest mission, the First Division had been outside Lyons, miles to the south.

Chief was sure she would be in the thick of things here, but there were so many in civilian clothes. Resistance, _Maqui_ , ordinary citizens armed for the final battle for the city. He couldn't spot a familiar small figure among them.

The Free French officer they were following had directed them to a barricade on the west side of the plaza. After some time of exchanging gunfire with the Germans entrenched in the building, Chief nudged Garrison.

"Maybe we can start some trouble in their supply yard? Keep 'em from bailing out the back way."

"Good idea, Chief," approved Garrison. "I don't think we're using our best talents out here. Let's go."

Garrison told the other three to stay in position, then slipped out behind Chief. They worked their way to the back side of the massive building. The gate to the courtyard was open, a tempting array of Nazi vehicles inviting them in. With the ease of long practice, they pulled explosives from their supply packs and went to work.

They paused to watch the results, trucks catching fire from each other, gas tanks exploding. Satisifed that they had destroyed all of the vehicles, they started back around the east side of the palace. Troop carriers lined the street.

"Let's just disable these," said Garrison. "The Allies might need them to cart off prisoners."

There was no gunfire coming from the front of the building, and Chief could hear the tanks approaching. He nodded, "Might be so."

They clipped or pulled critical wires from each truck. It was still quiet out front, so they walked back with only ordinary caution. They could see German soldiers, arms in the air, being led off by the French troops. A small crowd of civilians stood outside the gate. Chief's heart skipped a beat. He saw Suzette, linked arm-in-arm with that damned baker and another man. She turned to say something to the man at her side, and her expression changed as she saw Chief.

Suzette disentangled herself from the men and walked toward them, her eyes locked on Chief's face. They met in a tight embrace.

"Chief," she whispered. "My Rainey."

"Claire," he answered softly. He set her down, keeping a grip on her arms. They smiled at each other, and he looked her up and down.

"You look good," he said. "Healthy. Happy."

"This is the happiest day of my life," she said. "And now you are here…."

Garrison moved up and greeted the various _Jacquerie_ he recognized with a handshake. He turned to look at the couple, still standing close, and cleared his throat.

"Chief, we have to move on. You have five minutes."

Actor spoke up from behind him. "Surely, sir, you can give them some time together."

Goniff and Casino chimed in. "Warden, 'ave a heart." "Yeah, give the kids a break."

Garrison shook his head and sighed. They were a day behind already. "All right, Chief. You've got twenty minutes. We'll pick you up in that small square with the fountain."

Chief finally looked in his direction. "All right."

Suzette smiled at Garrison. "Thank you, Lieutenant. _Bienvenue_ , it is good to see you again."

GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

Chief held her arm as the worked their way through the barricades and people streaming towards the palace. They turned down a quieter side street.

"How does it happen that you are here?" Suzette asked. "Are you with the regular army now?"

"Naw. We ran into the French army on our way back from a mission," he said. "Decided to join the fun this time."

"This is good," she nodded. "I think you will be very more safe with your friends, as a _unité de guérilla._ "

"What about you? I mean, your job is done now, right?"

"Yes," Suzette said softly. "It is done."

Chief took her hand and looked down briefly. "You're not gonna do anything crazy now, are you? Like join up with the Free French or the _Maquis_?"

"No," she replied with a slight smile. "I don't think that they will allow me to fight. You are correct, my part is finished now."

"Good," he said without thinking, "then I won't have to worry about you anymore."

Suzette looked up at him. He looked straight ahead and said, "Well, Garrison would bring back word of your missions once in a while…. What are you going to do now?"

She shook her head and gave a small laugh. " I don't know. I have not thought beyond this day."

Chief said, "You know, this whole thing could be over in a few months."

"This is difficult to believe," she sighed.

"Well, the Allies have retaken almost of all of France. They'll be pushing into Germany soon." He paused. "And they're bombing the cities into rubble. The Krauts can't take much more of that. I've been there. It's pretty bad."

"This is good," Suzette said fiercely. "I hope they suffer much. They deserve this retribution."

Chief was a little startled. She saw his expression and spoke up. "They chose Hitler. They cheered this man, by the millions. Do not you hate them also? Surely you kill them without regret."

"That part's easy … Don't like them much, but don't know if I hate them all," he answered slowly. "Not as much as you." He paused. " But then, I didn't have to live in a cellar. Or lose my friends and my family."

He squeezed her hand and continued. "Anyway, it'll be over soon. And they'll pay for it."

They walked on in silence until they reached the edge of the small square.

"Listen, I was thinkin'," Chief said, looking straight ahead. "I might…when this is over, maybe I could come back to see you? If you'd like?"

Suzette smiled up at him. "I will like that," she said softly. "I will like that very much."

They came to the fountain. Chief laid his rifle on the rim. He slipped the girl's rifle off her shoulder and laid it on her other side. He moved close and looked down at her with a soft smile.

"Man, you're even more beautiful than I remember."

Suzette shook her head. "No, not today, I think."

"Oh yes," he replied. His long fingers pushed back some hair that had escaped from her braid, and smoothed away a tearstain from her dusty cheek. Then he took her face in his hands and leaned down to meet her lips. They kissed long and tenderly.

Chief nestled her head into the right spot on his shoulder and pulled her closer. They were both bulky with equipment, but it felt good to hold her again. Suzette sighed contentedly.

They kissed again. Suzette whispered, "Will the Lieutenant …. Do you think Garrison would tell me if something would happen to you?"

"Yeah, I think he would." He looked down at her seriously. "But it ain't nothin' to worry about. I'll make it through. I've made it this far."

He pointed to an empty café to the side of the square. "We'll sit in that café, over there. So plan on it, all right?"

Suzette pulled his head down to kiss him. Too soon, they heard the sound of a jeep approaching. Chief sighed and loosened his hold.

Casino pulled up with flair and a grin. "Hey, kid, time to go."

"Give her a kiss good-bye," Actor prompted.

Casino and Goniff looked at each other and began chanting, "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"

Chief shook his head, then smiled down at Suzette. He leaned her backwards and delivered a long, passionate kiss. The Gorillas whooped.

" _Au revoir_ , Claire," he said softly.

" _Au revoir_ , _ma mie_." She raised her hand in farewell to the others as Chief jumped into the front seat.

Casino looked at him as they started off. "Chiefy, did I actually see you smiling?"

Chief leaned his head back against the seat. "I still am, Casino."

Suzette watched the jeep until it turned away from her view. She took a deep breath, picked up her rifle and slung it over her shoulder. She joined the crowds streaming towards the palace, all talking, laughing, passing bottles of wine. Most of them wore scarves or armbands of blue or white. The hated Nazi flags were burning in piles all around the plaza. She finally reached her friends, and linked arms with Emile and Gaston. No more were they Jacques.

" _Voila! Ici!"_ A cheer rose from the crowd. The tri-color flag of France was unfurling from an upper window.

A tear slid down to meet her smile. The job was done, her city was free. And her child would be born in a free France.


End file.
